1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanical hay distributor. More specifically, the invention is a vehicle-mounted conveyor which mechanically distributes flakes of hay from bales of hay, preferably rectangular bales, thereby allowing an lone user to efficiently distribute hay over large agricultural areas from a moving vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Many farmers feed large rectangular bales of hay to their livestock during the winter and fall. Large rectangular bales of hay have many advantages over large round bales of hay for the farmer. For example, storage of large rectangular bales is easier and more efficient than large round bales. A large rectangular bale can be separated and easily broken-up proportionally to a predetermined number of animals in a pasture, while a large round bale can not be broken-up as easily and must be used in whole bale increments, thereby wasting hay. Large rectangular bales are also easier to haul by the load, and, unlike round bales, feasible to be loaded by a lone individual due to reduced size and weight. All these advantages make large rectangular bales more economical for feeding than large round bales.
Even though large rectangular bales have so many advantages, they are far more labor intensive to handle during the feeding distribution process than the large round bales, thus contributing to increased labor cost and expenses, reducing profit margins for the farmer. When distributing the large rectangular bales, the user typically must first load multiple bales on the back of his truck. The user then proceeds to the pasture, stops the truck, gets out of the truck, climbs in the back of the truck, separates some sections or flakes of hay from the bale and throws the hay to the livestock in the pasture. The user then gets back into his truck, drives a little further in the pasture and repeats the process again. When the user has a large pasture of land and a large number of animals to feed, this can be a very slow, very time consuming and tedious process. In the alternative, hands must be hired to expedite the process.
Some farmers have tried other dangerous, alternative methods of distributing hay. Farmers have been known to put their truck in low gear, jump out of the truck, jump in the back of the slow moving truck and throw hay to the livestock while the truck is moving, unmanned. Some farmers have also tried similarly to walk or run on the side of an unmanned truck while it is moving. Some farmers will have one person driving the truck and another riding in the back of the truck throwing off flakes of hay in the pasture while the truck is moving. This not only takes up the time of two men, but is also unsafe since a person is typically unstable while standing in the back of a moving truck.
Several related art patents disclose mechanical hay distributors that distribute round bales of hay. McFarland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,140, describes a self-loading trailer which handles and unloads large round bales of hay by means of fork-lift arms, and Wigness, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,343 describes a handling device comprising of a spearing frame which attaches to the back of a pick-up truck and rolls out a large round bale of hay. At this time, the only way to unload a large rectangular bale of hay is to use a front end loader. Moreover, there is currently no device that will safely and efficiently allow a person to mechanically flake off or unload large bales of hay from the back of a truck.
Other hay distributors for merely dumping hay bales include the patents issued to Miller (U.S. Pat. No. 966,572) and Cataldie, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,377, describing a sliding apparatus which pushes a bale of hay over a ramp from a trailer). Hay spreaders for use under a barn roof are described by Campbell in U.S. Pat. No. 1,079,211, by Anderson in U.S. Pat. No. 1,261,997, and in Swiss patent number 154,372. A hay baler and wrapper is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,080 to Bakke.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.